Man cheated out of jackpot may file a lawsuit

Published 4:48 pm, Tuesday, November 24, 2009

AUSTIN - In a move that could foretell a lawsuit, attorneys for a man whose million-dollar lottery ticket was allegedly swiped by a clerk want to question lottery officials and store representatives under oath.

"The Texas Lottery markets and sells itself as an entity that can make dreams come true," said lawyers Randy Howry and Sean E. Breen in the petition. "The Texas Lottery identifies as one of its 'core values' the 'integrity and responsibility' of the lottery ... Based upon the experience of Willis Willis, nothing could be further from the truth."

Besides Grief and Hanson, Willis' attorneys want to take depositions of the owner, manager and assistant manager of the store at which Willis bought his ticket and of officials with GTECH, which operates the lottery.

The state generally has immunity from lawsuits unless the Legislature grants permission to sue, but there are exceptions. Howry said besides suing the commission, options may include suing the store owner, the clerk, who has been considered a fugitive, or GTECH.

The Texas Lottery Commission had no comment.

Store manager Nick Parveez said a lawsuit against the store would be "ridiculous," noting that store employees were the ones who initially alerted the commission to concerns about the clerk.

Willis bought the winning Mega Millions ticket May 29 in Grand Prairie, according to Austin police, one of the agencies that investigated the case. Willis asked a clerk to check it and two other tickets May 31 and was told he'd won $2.

The store clerk, identified as Pankaj Joshi, later claimed the jackpot. A total of $750,006 after taxes was transferred to his account. After Joshi's co-workers phoned in their suspicions, the Lottery Commission looked into the matter and referred it to the Travis County district attorney's office.

Joshi was indicted on a charge of claiming a lottery prize by fraud, a second-degree felony.

Prosecutors have said a total of $365,000 has been recovered from banks, and that Willis is the rightful owner. Assuming he is awarded that money after a hearing, Willis wants the Lottery Commission to make up the difference.

Willis and his lawyers met this month with the commission's general counsel, emerging to say they'd been told the commission considers the jackpot winner to be Joshi. An Austin Police Department spokesman has said that's the way the lottery system works - that the person bearing the ticket gets the prize. That is why officials advise winners to sign their tickets.